Seventh Heaven Christmas
by Strifegirl
Summary: Cloud and his family are preparing for Christmas Eve. It has been a very busy day for Cloud and his Strife Delivery Service. Will he be in time for Christmas? A small fic from a bunch of Christmas CLOTI drabbles that I've been working on the holidays.
1. The Mystery of Santa Claus

Summary: Cloud and his family are preparing for Christmas Eve. While doing Christmas shopping, Tifa has to deal with Denzel's skepticism about Santa Claus.

Type: Drabble

Timeline: Christmas after Advent Children.

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII. Square Enix owns Final Fantasy and its characters. There is no copyright infringement intended.

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><p><strong>The Mystery of Santa Claus.<strong>

The season began with a mild blizzard, which brought the Christmas spirit to the people of Edge. Everyone were at home preparing for Christmas Eve. Except Cloud, who was out doing his deliveries.

Meanwhile, Denzel and Marlene had gone shopping with Tifa to get some groceries for tonight's dinner. Both were very excited since this would be the first time they would spend Christmas with Cloud and the others. While Tifa was picking the food, Denzel and Marlene were having a discussion about Santa Claus.

"Of course he is real!" Marlene claimed.

"No, he is not!" Denzel replied.

"Yes, he is!"

"No, he's not!"

"Yes, he is!" Marlene shouted.

"Hey, what's with the yelling?" Tifa came in and tries to calm them down.

"Denzel keeps saying that Santa Claus doesn't exist." Marlene frowned.

"Is that so..." Tifa tilted her head to see his face. "And why is that?" she asked nicely.

"Because he is not real." He shrugged. "Is just a lame excuse that all grown ups say to make us believe in magic and stuff." He crossed his arms and turned his back to them.

"Oh yeah? Then how do you explain all the gifts below the Christmas tree?" Marlene said sarcastically.

"That's easy." He scoffed. "Cloud and Tifa puts them there." He shrugged.

"Is that true Tifa?" Marlene gazed at her sadly.

"Of course not, sweetheart..." She strokes her hair.

"See?" She sticks out her tongue and Denzel frowns.

"Well, I still don't believe it."

"It's okay, Denzel." She bends over. "You don't have to believe with your head." She touches his head to gain his attention. "You need to believe with your heart." She points his chest, right where his heart is.

Denzel touches the spot where she was pointing and then looks at Tifa with a puzzled look on his face. Tifa smiles tenderly at him and he blushes a little. He then lowers his gaze and twists his mouth a little bit.

"Fine..." He sighs and Marlene smiles in triumph.

"Well then, let's go back so we can bake some cookies for Santa." Tifa winked and the children followed her afterwards.

Denzel stood there for a moment thinking about what she said a while ago. And then he realized that it was the first time that he actually believed in something. It was strange but it was also a very warm feeling. Is this what Christmas is all about?

At that moment he didn't care about it anymore, all he knew was that he was going to have the best Christmas ever. And for the first time he was going to spend it with all his family.

And with that thought, he smiled and headed back where Tifa and Marlene were.

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><p><em><strong>AN: There's still more to come XD**_


	2. A Busy day for Christmas

Pairing: Cloud/Tifa

Summary: Cloud and his family are preparing for Christmas Eve. It has been a very busy day for Cloud and his Strife Delivery Service. Will he be in time for Christmas?

Type: Drabble

Timeline: Christmas after Advent Children.

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII. Square Enix owns Final Fantasy and its characters. There is no copyright infringement intended.

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><p><strong>A Busy day for Christmas.<strong>

Cloud came back from his delivery service.

As usual, he was greeted with hugs and smiles from the children. He wasn't exactly a huggable person but he didn't mind either.

While he put some boxes under the counter he sees Tifa in the kitchen. Since today was a holiday, she had to closed the bar early in order to cook the meal for tonight's dinner. It smelled so good in there that as soonest he smell the food, Cloud's stomach started to growl. He quickly reached for the fridge and ate some snacks to ease the hunger; and then he took off for another deliver.

Minutes later, Yuffie arrived to the bar and brought a bunch of Christmas stuff. She took out the ornaments and hand it to the children, so they can start decorating the place. Denzel and Marlene were having a great time putting up with the decorations and they've totally forgot about the Santa Claus issue.

After finishing with the decorations, Cloud came back with more boxes. It has been a very busy day for the Strife Delivery Service. He wanted to stay for awhile, but his phone wouldn't stop ringing.

Tifa on the other hand, had finished with the cooking and now it was time to clean the whole place before the rest of party arrived.

Cloud received another phone call and he had no choice but to leave again. Before he left on his Fenrir, Tifa went outside to give him something for the trip. She knew he hadn't eaten the whole day so she managed to fix him something extra for him. Cloud said thanks and she leaned forward to give him a kiss on the cheek. Cloud blushed a bit and then he left.

The night came down and it was time to serve the delicious meal that Tifa had cooked. All the party members were there, even Reno and Rude from the Turks came by to visit. Barret and Cid were taking a few shots at the bar. Caith Sith and Red were playing in the snow along with the children while Vincent and Reeve watches them from the entrance. Tifa and Yuffie were in the kitchen serving and putting the table. Everyone was there; all but Cloud.

Meanwhile, Cloud was still out on the job. He wanted to be there in time for dinner, but the snow was too thick and was slowing him down. The road was covered with tons of snow and he had no choice but to speed up in order to get through it. The snow was pouring down even more and he could barely see the road throught his goggles. When he tried to clean the goggles, a small creature came out of nowhere and Cloud gets out of the road in attempt to avoid it. Good thing he landed in a pile of snow, otherwise he would be dead by now.

A few hours passed and he finally arrived to Seventh Heaven. He was covered in snow from head to toe and all of his friends went to aid him.

"What happened to you Spiky?" Barret asked.

"Well... I decided to turn myself into a Popsicle." He said sarcastically. The children laughed at his comment and then Tifa came in with a towel on her hand to dry him up. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang goes back to the table and starts with the feast. Tifa comes forward and interrupts the meal to say a few words.

"I would like to make a toast!" she said almost shouting to draw their attention. "As you all know, this is actually the first time that we have a reunion like this in years; and since is a rare occasion, I'd like to thank you all for coming and share this wonderful holiday with us." She gazed at the children. "I know it's been really hard these couple of years," she trailed off. "But in the end, it was all worth it." She gazes at Cloud with a shy smile on her face. Cloud stares at her for a moment and then responds with a slight smirk. "So, here's to our big family!"She raised her glass.

"TO OUR BIG FAMILY!" the party shouted and they all raised their glasses.

"Hey! You forgot to say Merry Christmas!" Yuffie protested.

"Oh, right! Merry Christmas everyone!" Tifa said cheerfully and they all raised their glasses once again.

Cloud on the other hand, was standing in the corner of the galley watching the whole scene with a slight smile on his face. He was mesmerized by her warm smile and his eyes were fixed on the brunette. For that moment, he felt as if his whole body was floating, until a sneeze broke his eyes contact.

Tifa noticed the strong sneeze and approached him to see if he was okay. Cloud begins to sneeze more often and he had no choice but to go upstairs to his room and change his clothes. Meanwhile, Tifa goes into the kitchen to prepare him a hot chocolate so he can warm up a little bit. Minutes later, she goes upstairs to bring the hot beverage to him and that's when she finds him laying on his bed asleep. Apparently, he was exhausted for the long day at work and he collapsed on his bed because of the fatigue.

Tifa softened her expression when she saw him sleeping like a baby and she goes to him. She puts the hot chocolate on his night stand and then covers him with a small blanket. She leaned forward to press a soft kiss on his forehead and then whispers something on his ear.

"Merry Christmas sleepy head." She said smiling.

And later after that, she goes downstairs to join with the rest of the party.

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><p><strong><em>AN: I sorry for the late update :( anyway, enjoy the latest drabble and don't forget to leave a comment ;)_**


	3. A Kiss under the Mistletoe

**A Kiss under the Mistletoe**

After the dinner, everyone returned to their respective homes while Tifa puts the kids to sleep. They were still excited about Christmas and they couldn't wait until morning to open their presents. Tifa stayed with them for a while until they finally succumbed to sleep. She took the opportunity to go wake Cloud (who was still asleep in his room) and put the Christmas presents under the tree.

"Cloud, wake up." She shook him slightly and caressed his face.

Cloud stirred under her gentle touch and grunted as protest.

"Wha...What is it?" He said drowsily.

"The children are asleep." She whispered softly.

He yawned. "Ah... Good." He laid his head back on his pillow.

"Come on, you silly!" She shook him again. "We have to hurry before they wake up again."

"Alright, alright... I'm up." He stood up drowsily and rubbed his eyes before stretching his body.

Tifa lends him the Santa Claus costume and headed first to see if there weren't any signs of the children while Cloud puts on the costume.

"Ugh... Why do I have to wear this every time?" He winced.

"Because it will ruin Christmas if the children sees you without it." She said amused.

"This thing is so itchy." He grunted as he struggled to scratch his back.

"Hush..." She puts a finger on her mouth. "Be quiet. You're gonna wake them up." She whispered before opening the door.

They both walked slowly downstairs to the living room where the Christmas tree was. They began to put different presents under the tree and also some candy on their respective socks. While Cloud finished put the presents under the tree, Tifa goes to the kitchen bar to bring something and then approached him to offer some cookies with milk.

"Here, don't forget to eat these." She said as she handed him the plate with cookies.

"But I'm not hungry." He said bluntly.

"I know, but those are the cookies that Marlene and I baked for Santa. If she finds out he didn't eat them all she will get sad."

"No wonder why this costume doesn't fit me anymore." He grabbed the plate with a sarcastic expression on his face. Tifa giggled at his comment and then he bit one of the cookies.

"These are actually pretty good." He said with a mouthful. "Last year's cookies were spicy and it gave me a stomachache." He winced at the memory.

Tifa couldn't help the chuckled after that. "Sorry, that was my bad. Marlene thought the pepper was cinnamon."

"You want some?" He handed the cookies to her.

"Sure." She shrugged.

They stayed silent for a moment while they eat the cookies until Tifa spoke.

"Hey Cloud? Um, if you could make a wish to Santa Claus... What would you ask for?"

"Um... I don't know. I really haven't thought about it." He scratched the back of his head. "I guess I would ask for some new accessories for the Fenrir or something useful. I don't know." He shrugged.

Tifa giggled and then drank some milk. Cloud chuckled when he saw that she had a milk mustache.

"You have a..." He pointed with his fingers under his nose to let her know what he was trying to say.

"Oh! Sorry..." She chuckled as well. "I guess the milk has too much foam in it."

He smirked. "By the way, you haven't told what you would ask for Christmas."

"Well, to tell you the truth..." She looked at the Christmas tree. "I'm just so grateful to have you and the children with me." She paused and then smiled. "I don't think I could ask for more than that." She looked at him and smiled warmly.

Cloud narrowed his eyes at her with a smile on his face. "I think so too."

They stared at each other for the longest time. Cloud looked up and realized that she was standing under mistletoe. At first, he widened his eyes with a slight blush but then he turned his head the other way to chuckle.

"What? What's so funny?" She said curious.

"Did you ask Yuffie to help you with the decoration?" He pointed up with his eyes, amused.

"Yes. Why-" She looks up and gasp surprised. She mentally cursed Yuffie for placing that mistletoe near the Christmas tree and then she turned her head with a blush on her cheeks.

Cloud was having fun with this one as he walked slowly to her. Tifa lowered her head to hide her blush and tried to break the awkward moment.

"Listen, you don't have to do this if you don't want to..." She said embarrassed.

"Who says I don't want to?" He smirked.

Tifa opens her eyes surprised and then Cloud presses a soft kiss on her lips without giving her a chance to react. After the shock, she closes her eyes slowly to enjoy the contact and wraps her arms around his neck. Cloud pulls away from her lips to whisper something.

"Merry Christmas, Teef." He smirked.

Tifa smiled as well and bit her lower lip. "Merry Christmas, Santa." She whispered softly before joining her lips once again. This time they took their time in the kissing to enjoy their magical moment under the mistletoe.

Meanwhile, in the other corner, two little children were witnessing the event behind the furniture.

"See? I told you he was real!" Marlene whispered.

"But, I thought you said he was fatter." Denzel replied confused.

"Maybe he went on a diet this year." She shrugged.

"Wait. Is that... Tifa?" Denzel asked surprised.

"Why is she kissing Santa?" Marlene said confused.

"Ew..." Denzel winced at the thought.

After a while, they both leave stealthily from the living room and ran up the stairs to their room. They jumped into their beds to hide under the covers and wait patiently for the morning.

Minutes later, Cloud followed Tifa into her room and they shut the door after that.

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><p><strong><em>AN: I finally finished my little Christmas story with the Seventh Heaven Family. I might write a small drabble later to add something extra to the story but in the meantime, enjoy this fluffy chapter w_**

**_Once again, please excuse my bad english in case you find some grammar mistakes. English is not my first language so I would appreciate if you can point them out for me. _**

**_Merry Christmas everyone! x3_**


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